Re: stocking-up on post-op food

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm having surgery in a couple of weeks also, June 28th. I just went

to the store this weekend and stocked up on some stuff. I got boost,

chicken broth and apple juice. I also ordered the zip-n-squeeze jaw

wrap and the hospital kit today.

When is your surgery date and what type of surgery are you having?

I'm

having upper and lower jaw surgery done. I'm getting anxious. I've

been waiting for over 2 1/2 years since I first got my braces on.

Hopefully someone can answer your questions and that will help me

also. I've been reading all the posts to get prepared also.

Good luck!

Kay

> I am having lower jaw surgery in a couple of weeks. although I have

> been reading the messages here and have some idea of what I should

> expect to eat after surgery, I need help with getting all the food

i

> need for atleast 1 week after my surgery.

> Also, can someone give me some idea of the experience of the first

> meal after surgery and after how long were you able to eat.

>

> And what exactly should I buy to help me through my first week?

> alcohol free mouth-wash, ensure, boost.....drinking cup..zip-n

squeeze

> bag?

> Is there a list that I can follow and see what would work for me or

> not? I want to make sure I can make myself as much comfortable as

> possible

>

> Thanks,

> Namrita.

[Guest guest]

My history :

My surgery is on July 13. I have seen the surgeon only once, which

was 6 months ago(for a 15 minutes interview). and he gave approval

for surgery. And now I'll be seeing him on July 5th only 1 week

before surgery. Its weird because I don't think there was any

communication between the surgeon and my orthodontist besides 1

letter asking for teeth models. So I'm nervous about what to expect.

I've had braces for 14 months now and this is the second time in

braces. First time was when I was in 7th grade and now I am 23.

Right now I believe I am having only lower jaw moved forward. I'm a

bit more anxious because I have no clue right now about what they

will do to my jaw.

Since I'm in university, my classes got over yesterday, so I'm free

until August 8 with 3 weeks to recuperate before returning to school.

I haven't bought anything yet since I have a month to plan for my

surgery.

A few months ago, someone posted a detailed list of what to expect

and recipes and everything else. I really wish I'd saved it then as

it had a lot of usable information. I was trying to look for it in

message boards but with so many messages being posted everyday, I

couldn't find that.

Namrita.

..

> > I am having lower jaw surgery in a couple of weeks. although I

have

> > been reading the messages here and have some idea of what I

should

> > expect to eat after surgery, I need help with getting all the

food

> i

> > need for atleast 1 week after my surgery.

> > Also, can someone give me some idea of the experience of the

first

> > meal after surgery and after how long were you able to eat.

> >

> > And what exactly should I buy to help me through my first week?

> > alcohol free mouth-wash, ensure, boost.....drinking cup..zip-n

> squeeze

> > bag?

> > Is there a list that I can follow and see what would work for me

or

> > not? I want to make sure I can make myself as much comfortable

as

> > possible

> >

> > Thanks,

> > Namrita.

[Guest guest]

Namrita,

I'm sure you will get lots of wonderful advice from the group. My

only suggestion would be to make sure you have lots of clear liquid

for the first few days. Things like apple juice, white grape juice,

vitamin water, etc. will be wonderful to build up your abilities when

it comes to " eating " post-op.

Best of luck,

Carol

> I am having lower jaw surgery in a couple of weeks. although I have

> been reading the messages here and have some idea of what I should

> expect to eat after surgery, I need help with getting all the food i

> need for atleast 1 week after my surgery.

> Also, can someone give me some idea of the experience of the first

> meal after surgery and after how long were you able to eat.

>

> And what exactly should I buy to help me through my first week?

> alcohol free mouth-wash, ensure, boost.....drinking cup..zip-n

squeeze

> bag?

> Is there a list that I can follow and see what would work for me or

> not? I want to make sure I can make myself as much comfortable as

> possible

>

> Thanks,

> Namrita.

[Guest guest]

i wish i could help you with what food i've bought - but in all

honestly it's completely out of my hands. between my fiance (hehehe -

still not old) and my mom - they kind of took care of it by

themselves. joey does seem to really like the 8weekswired website for

recipes. he blended me " orange chicken " and " carrot side dish "

tonight - which was ok going down...although i can't imagine

requesting it when i'm all better. i can tell you though that i feel

way more full than i did with ensure or soup.

as for meeting with the surgeon - i saw god...i mean dr. cutting a

total of four times. the first was jan 2003 - his idea to do lefort

i. second mar 2003 - ok'd the ortho treatment plan. third - 2 weeks

ago. $350 for 10 min of you'll be ok - i'm the best - have you seen

my hair the fourth was the day of surgery - he actually gave me a

hug pre-op! wahoo! i don't even think i seem him for my post-op - i

think i see his resident. i do know that he and my ortho talked a lot

within the last month of my surgery - although he had a hard time

placing my face on that third visit with the name the ortho had been

using. this rambling is just to say that i think it's ok that you

haven't seen your surgeon too frequently.

-becky

[Guest guest]

Namrita,

I would be concerned if my Orthodontits and Surgeon hadn't been

working closely together ... and if I had only met with my Surgeon

twice prior to surgery. I'd suggest that you meet with him/her

soon ... to discuss the details of your procedure and to have any/all

your questions/concerns addressed.

Good luck,

Carol

> > > I am having lower jaw surgery in a couple of weeks. although I

> have

> > > been reading the messages here and have some idea of what I

> should

> > > expect to eat after surgery, I need help with getting all the

> food

> > i

> > > need for atleast 1 week after my surgery.

> > > Also, can someone give me some idea of the experience of the

> first

> > > meal after surgery and after how long were you able to eat.

> > >

> > > And what exactly should I buy to help me through my first week?

> > > alcohol free mouth-wash, ensure, boost.....drinking cup..zip-n

> > squeeze

> > > bag?

> > > Is there a list that I can follow and see what would work for

me

> or

> > > not? I want to make sure I can make myself as much comfortable

> as

> > > possible

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > > Namrita.

[Guest guest]

After I had my surgery, I think I didn't have my first " meal " until the next

morning

(although it's all a bit hazy.....) I found that since my liquid meds were very

sweet I did not

want anything else sweet. So unless you have a really strong sweet tooth I

would not buy

a lot of Ensure or other nutritional drinks. Instead I bought plain whole milk

yogurt, which

I mixed with my medicines to make them go down easier and give some extra

calories. I

preferred to eat cream of wheat, mashed potatoes (sometimes mixed with creamy

salad

dressing like blue cheese or ranch for flavor and calories) and soups. Since I

love Mexican

food, I ate a lot of black bean soup! Everything will have to be very well

pureed and for the

first couple of weeks it will have to be watered down enough that you can get it

through a

syringe or zipnsqueeze straw. If found I did not care for the zipnsqueeze food

dispensers

(tended to clog a bit, I preferred the jumbo syringe), but I did like the

zipnsqueeze for

drinks.

If your jaw is not wired, then after a few weeks of " only what fits through a

straw " you will

probably be told you can eat food off a spoon but not chew. At that point you

will need

some silverware that is very FLAT because you still may not be able to open your

mouth

very wide. I went and bought some toddler spoons and forks. I started eating

mashed

veggies, mashed fish, mashed tamales, mashed pasta.... you get the picture. It

sounds

boring now, but it will seem heavenly after weeks of only liquids!

Best of luck to you -

> I am having lower jaw surgery in a couple of weeks. although I have

> been reading the messages here and have some idea of what I should

> expect to eat after surgery, I need help with getting all the food i

> need for atleast 1 week after my surgery.

> Also, can someone give me some idea of the experience of the first

> meal after surgery and after how long were you able to eat.

>

> And what exactly should I buy to help me through my first week?

> alcohol free mouth-wash, ensure, boost.....drinking cup..zip-n squeeze

> bag?

> Is there a list that I can follow and see what would work for me or

> not? I want to make sure I can make myself as much comfortable as

> possible

>

> Thanks,

> Namrita.